Lib Dem membership surges as people join to help elect new leader

The Liberal Democrats have seen a surge in membership after suffering a heavy defeat at the polls in last week’s general election.

More than 7,000 people have joined the party since last Thursday, raising the total number of Lib Dems by over 15% to more than 54,000.

After losing the vast majority of their seats in Westminster last week, the Lib Dems are looking to rebuild the party and are currently searching to find a new leader to replace Nick Clegg. Unlike most political parties, the Lib Dems choose their leader and their policies through direct democracy, where each member gets to vote and have their say.

As the Conservative government looks to scrap the Human Rights Act, privatise the NHS, dismantle the BBC, and bring back fox hunting, it is becoming clearer to the electorate how much of an effect the Lib Dems had on the government over the last five years. While the electorate gave them a kicking last week for joining a coalition with the Tories, it will become clearer in the coming months how much the country is in need of a liberal centre, and the party is looking to capitalise on those feelings.

In a statement on their website, the party says:

“We’re recruiting people who have never joined a party in the past but want to stand together against the things this Conservative government is already promising to do.”